jmh

Hi

I have sorted my fencing problems and will be getting a little doggy after I get back from my hols in the UK (July).

I'm unsure about whether it is worth getting pet insurance or to put the premium amount (around $35pm depending on your policy) in a bank account.

I did have it in the UK and was lucky enough to have my cat's cancer op paid for (GBP1000). However I was unsure at the time whether it should have gone ahead, and she passed away anyway. It's a hard decision to make of course.

Ellenco have a cheap surgery only option for $12.81 a month which isn't so bad. A full policy is $42.98:

http://www.pet-insurance.co.nz/Fordogs.aspx

The type of dog I am planning to get (e.g. Bichon/Shitsu/Papillon type) is not on the special breed list.

Anyone have other recommendations or thoughts?

Jan n Neil

In 20 years of dog ownership, and maybe I am lucky, I have never benefited from pet insurance so we don't have it now. If the dog lives 5 years with no problems, on the full insurance you will have paid about $2500 in premiums. We recently had a really old sick dog and in his later years on drips and other things, he probably did not cost us that much as vet bills are pretty low here compared to the UK.

If you have a large dog that might break a leg or something, then yes maybe - although we have chosen not to for our two GSDs, because we'd be paying about $1000 a year for them, i.e. $10,000 each if they live until they are 10. In fact I paid that for a long haired GSD in the UK, and I got 200 quid back for his bills when he passed away.

Of course we take our 4 dogs to the vets if they are sick, but unless they are injured, dogs are pretty tough, an dunless you are very unlucky, rarely ill. We have therefore decided no insurance.

Jan

jmh

That's really helpful - thanks Jan

I guess if the worst happened I could afford a big vet bill. I'm interested to hear what you say about vets bills. I hadn't got round to comparing.

Persephone

Like all optional insurance, good if you need it, a waste of money if not. Always a gamble and one of those times where a crystal ball would come in very handy
The small type breeds you've mentioned tend not to be predisposed to many diseases; teeth, skin and certain joint problems tend to be fairly common. Teeth are often shockingly bad and need repeated dental work or extractions. Though some have very good teeth...

I can give you some approximate costings based on Chch prices to give you an idea as to how much surgery and so on may cost. Just to give you a ballpark figure on these things. I've picked common surgeries and mentioned more specific ones that are more common in the breeds specified:
Simple fracture repair $1,200- 2,000
More advanced orthopaedics $2,000- ???? . A recent pelvic fracture repair cost $4,500 [though this amount is rare!]
Luxating patella [relatively common in small dogs] $500-1,500 depending on the grade and surgery required
Intestinal foreign body surgery and workup $800-1,200, most small breeds tend not to swallow inedible objects, it's often Labs that ought to be born with a zip
Simple dental scale and polish $250-400 [including anaesthetic]
Disease requiring hospitalisation and IV drip plus workup eg severe gastroenteritis $400-700
Ongoing chronic disease -costs varies immensely, hypothyroidism is very cheap whereas something like diabetes or Cushings can work out at $100 pcm or more. Again depends on dose and drug needed/ stability of the condition etc
Cystotomy [bladder stone removal] $600-800

One advantage with insurance is the ability to refer to a specialist or for more expensive diagnostics if necessary. For example an MRI scan would cost up to $2,000 and that is sometimes the only way a definitive diagnosis can be reached. In my experience, very few will opt to take it that far.

I'd say most animals don't seem to get anything too seriously wrong with them. Obviously the cost can escalate if something major occurs. I'd agree with Jan, most dogs are fairly hardy. It can sometimes just be bad luck that an individual has a 'problem' dog
Most people are not insured and do pay as necessary.

I hope I haven't made it sound all doom and gloom. Yes, things can get expensive very quickly but equally it is more likely that they won't! And dogs are great! I do miss having a dog and if I could have one [better working hours] then I would

scrubbedexpat094

I was wondering about this too as we are looking into getting a westie.